In my article about the riddle "Kitty, a Fair but Frozen Maid," in the online 2022 edition of the Jane Austen Society of North America journal Persuasions, I aim to demonstrate that modern interpretations of the "Kitty, a Fair but Frozen Maid" riddle in Emma are founded on false premises. Briefly, Jillian Heydt-Stevenson argues that the riddle has a subversive and obscene meaning which informs the entire interpretation of the novel. Here is a brief recap of Jillian Heydt-Stevenson's theory of the meaning of the riddle in Emma. I have additional background research material and thoughts here and here. You'll find the text of the Kitty riddle here.
  As I pointed out in my article, if the interpretation of the riddle is mistaken, then the interpretation of the novel built upon it is moot. Nevertheless, I will discuss that interpretation to resume an earlier discussion of Jillian Heydt Stevenson's book, Austen's Unbecoming Conjunctions, Subversive Laughter, Embodied History. 
    Heydt-Stevenson is positing an advanced and subtle degree of allusive meaning in Austen's work. I'm not an expert on the evolution of the novel, but I don't see similar examples of subtle (and I mean subtle) allusion in the novels of Austen's time. There is allegory, yes, and satire, yes, but--well, see if you can follow the extended line of thought that Heydt-Stevenson thinks Austen’s first readers would have followed after they had read the one stanza of the Kitty riddle that appears in Emma...

    Mr. Woodhouse's Georgian-era riddle, "Kitty, a Fair but Frozen Maid," is the subject of my article in the 2022 online edition of Persuasions, the journal of the Jane Austen Society of North America. My previous post gives the full text of the Kitty riddle and adds some background info.  One of the points I touch on in the article is that to understand this riddle, you should study it in context by comparing it with other Georgian-era poem-riddles.
     As I discovered, the Georgians loved riddles with witty word play. They could be in prose, but a really clever riddler could give his clues in rhyme, as the author of the Kitty riddle does. Riddles were sometimes called "Enigmas." 
    Many Georgian-era riddles were cleverly risqué but Mr. Elton, when asked to contribute to Harriet's riddle collection, was careful to avoid giving her something that was off-color. He was "most earnestly careful that nothing ungallant, nothing that did not breathe a compliment to the sex should pass his lips. They owed to him their two or three politest puzzles."  The passage acknowledges the changing sensibilities of Regency audiences, compared to the bawdier Georgians.
      Below is a prime example of a naughty-sounding Georgian riddle. I wouldn't share this one with children, even though the allusions are likely to go over their heads...

     I'm going to assume that if you're reading this post you've read Jane Austen's novel Emma, and you know that "Kitty, a Fair but Frozen Maid" is a riddle that Mr. Woodhouse tries to recollect. (You can also check at the bottom of this post for a refresher about the role the riddle plays in the novel.) You probably also know that Austen scholars have pored over and debated every aspect of her novels, including this seemingly-inconsequential riddle.
  My research and conclusions about this riddle are now published in the 2022 Jane Austen Society of North America journal, Persuasions online. 
​   But—it's just a riddle, for pete's sake, and only one stanza of it appeared in Emma. (See after the break for the full poem). Why does a riddle deserve so much scrutiny? Allow me to explain...